Saltwater crocodile

How it lives

Saltwater crocodiles live in brackish mangroves, river mouths, lagoons and freshwater rivers. Females mature at about 2.1 m, around 12 to 14 years old, and males at about 3.3 m, around 16 years old. A female lays about 40 to 60 eggs, sometimes up to 90, during the wet season, and the eggs take about 90 days to hatch. Only about 1 in 100 hatchlings is thought to reach adulthood. Lifespan in the wild is estimated at more than 70 years, though the oldest ages are unverified.

Where it goes

Saltwater crocodiles can use ocean currents to travel long distances at sea. One tagged crocodile travelled 590 km in 25 days and another 411 km in 20 days. Many others stay in the same river, lagoon or mangrove area.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Least Concern worldwide. Hunting for skins cut numbers sharply: in Australia the population fell by about 95 percent by 1971, then recovered after protection in the early 1970s, and an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 adults live there now. In Solomon Islands, hunting and skin exports were banned in 1993 and the population has recovered rapidly. A nationwide survey in 2017 to 2018 by the government and WorldFish recorded 83 fatal attacks, about 37 percent of attacks, and found that on average about five people a year are killed. In some other countries, data are limited and some areas have few large adults.